SETTING A MINNY TRAP
Caps must be wary against lowly squad
It’s one of those dangerous games that looks like an easy win for the Whitecaps. The home team, on a streak in which they have three wins and a draw in their last four and only a single loss in their last seven, against an expansion team sitting a whisper above the bottom of the table with just a pair of wins in their last 10. Vancouver, in position to leapfrog the Seattle Sounders and move past the Portland Timbers into first place in the West with a win, against a team with twice as many losses (14) as wins this season.
But one of those Minnesota United FC wins came less than three weeks ago against the Chicago Fire, third in the Eastern Conference. And Vancouver players haven’t forgotten that they led 2-0 in Minnesota at the half in their only other regularseason meeting this year in June before giving up a pair of goals to settle for the draw.
Minnesota might be a 10thplace team in an 11-team conference, but Carl Robinson knows his side won’t win by simply showing up to play. Loathe to admit his players have even spoken about the standings, he’s seen his team give up some points this season in games that looked like easy wins (like that 2-2 draw to Colorado, last place in the MLS, less than six weeks ago) and he doesn’t want them to get distracted by big-picture thoughts.
“They’ve beaten Kansas City (fourth in the west), they beat Chicago, they beat Portland, so we won’t get fooled by that. We know it’s going to be a very difficult game,” the manager said after Tuesday’s practice at UBC. “If we play below our standards, we’re in for a very tough game. We know it’s going to be a tough game anyway. We have to play at 100 per cent, if not, we’re not going to win.”
Whitecaps defender Tim Parker echoes Robinson’s wariness, saying he’s preparing to keep his eyes focused on Abu Danladi
and Christian Ramirez, a “good striker pairing” with 16 goals between them so far this season, but he admits the prospect of moving to the top of the board is appealing.
“We know what kind of position we’re in and we have to take advantage of it, but knowing that we know it’s not going to be an easy game and we just have to expect that they’re going to come in here and give us a battle.”
After Minnesota, the Whitecaps have two more home games left in this four-game homestand, hosting the Columbus Crew (fourth in the Eastern Conference) Saturday then Colorado a week later. They finish the season with four of five away from home and Robinson knows it will be a good feeling to be on top after their next game, but it will feel even better if they’re still there when the season wraps up on Oct. 22.
“You’re always trying to climb the table and get as high up as you can,” Robinson said.